Thin film battery with protective packaging

ABSTRACT

A battery comprises a substrate comprising an electrolyte between a pair of conductors, at least one conductor having a non-contact surface. A cap is spaced apart from the non-contact surface of the conductor by a gap having a gap distance d g  of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm. The gap allows the conductor to expand into the gap. The gap is further bounded by side faces about a surrounding perimeter that may be sealed with a seal. In one version, the ratio of the surface area of the non-contact surfaces on the conductor to the total surface area of the side faces is greater than about 10:1. A pliable dielectric can also be provided in the gap.

BACKGROUND

Batteries having thin film components are typically manufactured usingprocessing techniques used to fabricate semiconductors or displays.Their small size allows thin film batteries to be used in manyapplications, such as for example, portable electronics, medicaldevices, and space systems. The energy density and specific energy ofthin film batteries, which express the energy capacity of the batteryper unit volume and weight, respectively, are important performancemeasures, and consequently, it is desirable to increase the energydensity and specific energy of such batteries.

The battery components, such as the anode, cathode and electrolyte, canbe sensitive to exposure to the surrounding external environment, forexample air, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, moistureand organic solvents. Thus, protective packaging for the battery cell isprovided to reduce or eliminate exposure of the thin films to theexternal environment. For example, a protective sheet of polymer can belaminated onto the battery structure to serve as protective packaging.However, the resultant laminate structure is often much thicker than theoriginal battery. For example, the laminated sheets typically have to betens or hundreds of micrometers thick to provide adequate protection andstructural support, whereas the battery component themselves are only afew micrometers thick. Thus, the laminated packaging substantiallyincreases the weight and volume of the battery, and consequently,reduces its energy density.

A protective covering film deposited onto the battery structure in thesame way as the component films of the battery can also serve asprotective packaging. Such protective films can include ceramics, metalsand parylene. However, such films often do not provide completeprotection for a sufficiently long time and can allow gases or otheratmospheric elements to leach through the films in a relatively shorttime of only a few months. These covering films also do not provideadequate structural support, and their use may entail additionalpackaging to increase the structural strength of the battery, and thusfurther reduce its energy density. Furthermore, these films have to alsobe several tens of micrometers thick to provide adequate environmentalprotection, and this additional thickness further reduces energydensity.

A sheet of glass can also be positioned over the battery component filmsto serve as protective packaging. However, the glass sheet presents aninflexible boundary to the underlying battery component films. Forexample, the anode typically expands and contracts during the charge anddischarge cycles of the battery. The inflexible glass sheet restrictssuch expansion creating mechanical stresses in the anode which mayeventually lead to mechanical or chemical failure and reduce thelifetime or degrade the performance of the battery. The glass sheet isalso typically too thick and weighty, thus further reducing the energydensity and specific energy of the battery.

Thus, there is a need for a battery that protects against theenvironmental elements for the battery component films. There is also aneed for a battery having relatively high energy density and specificenergy. There is further a need for a battery that provides protectionto the comprising components for long periods of time. There is also aneed for a battery having adequate structural support.

SUMMARY

A battery comprises a substrate comprising an electrolyte between a pairof conductors. At least one conductor has a non-contact surface. A capis provided that is spaced apart from the conductor with the non-contactsurface by a gap having a gap distance d_(g) of from about 1 μm to about120 μm. The spaced apart gap allows the conductor can expand into thegap.

In another version, the battery comprises a first substrate comprisingan electrolyte between a first pair of conductors with at least one ofthe first pair of conductors having a first non-contact surface, and asecond substrate comprising an electrolyte between a second pair ofconductors with at least one of the second pair of conductors having asecond non-contact surface. A first gap is provided about the firstnon-contact surface of the first pair of conductors and a second gap isprovided about the second non-contact surface of the second pair ofconductors. The first and second gaps each comprising a gap distanced_(g) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm, whereby the first and secondgaps allow the first and second conductors to expand into the gaps.

In a further version, a battery with first and second substrates alsohas a pliable dielectric abutting at least one of the first or secondnon-contact surfaces, the pliable dielectric having a thicknesssufficiently thick to prevent generated electrical currents from passingtherethrough and sufficiently thin to block diffusion of external gasesfrom the peripheral edge of the pliable dielectric to the first andsecond pairs of conductors.

In yet another version, a battery comprises a substrate having (i) afirst surface comprising a first battery cell comprising a firstelectrolyte between a first pair of conductors, at least one of thefirst pair of conductors having a first non-contact surface, and (ii) asecond surface comprising a second electrolyte between a second pair ofconductors, at least one of the second pair of conductors having asecond non-contact surface. A first cap is spaced apart from the firstnon-contact surface of a conductor by a first gap having a gap distanced_(g1) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm, whereby the conductor canexpand into the first gap. A second cap is spaced apart from the secondnon-contact surface of a conductor by a second gap having a gap distanced_(g2) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm, whereby the conductor canexpand into the second gap.

In a further version, a battery comprises a substrate having a surfacewith a plurality of interconnected battery cells on the substratesurface. Each battery cell comprises an electrolyte having opposingsurfaces, and first and second conductors contacting the opposingsurfaces of the electrolyte, at least one conductor having a non-contactsurface. At least one electrical connector strip connects the batterycells. The electrical connector strip has a foot that extends underneatha first conductor of a battery cell and a head that extends over asecond conductor of an adjacent battery cell to electrically couple thebattery cells to one another.

DRAWINGS

These features, aspects and advantages of the present invention willbecome better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings, which illustrate examples ofthe invention. However, it is to be understood that each of the featurescan be used in the invention in general, not merely in the context ofthe particular drawings, and the invention includes any combination ofthese features, where:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a battery comprising a single battery cellon a substrate with a gap between the battery cell and a facing cap;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a battery comprising two facing batterycells with a gap therebetween and enclosed by caps which are thesubstrates themselves;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the battery of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a battery comprising two facing batterycell on adjacent and separate substrates and a third battery cell on asubstrate which also serves as a cap;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view a battery having facing batteries with apliable dielectric therebetween and caps formed by the substratesthemselves;

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a battery comprising a stack ofbattery cells connected in series; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a battery comprising a stack ofbatteries connected in parallel;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a battery comprising battery cells on twoopposing surfaces of a single substrate with two caps;

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of a battery comprising anexemplary arrangement of a stack of double sided battery cells connectedin series;

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of a battery comprising anexemplary arrangement of a stack of double sided battery cells connectedin a parallel;

FIG. 11A is a schematic top view of a battery comprising an arrangementof battery cells formed on a single side of a substrate and connected inseries; and

FIG. 11B is a schematic side sectional view of an arrangement of batterycells formed on one side of a substrate and also connected in series.

DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of a battery 20 having features of the present inventionis illustrated in FIG. 1. The battery 20 is useful in many applicationsrequiring small size, high specific energy and energy density, andresistance to environmental elements. In the version shown, the battery20 comprises a single battery cell 22 enclosed on one side by thesubstrate 24 and on the other side by a cap 26 facing the substrate 24.The enclosure formed by the substrate 24 and cap 26 protect the thinfilms of the battery cell from the external environment. The substrate24 is made from a material that is suitably impermeable to environmentalelements, has a relatively smooth surface 32 upon which to form thinfilms, and also has sufficient mechanical strength to support thedeposited thin films at fabrication temperatures and at batteryoperational temperatures. The substrates 24 may be an insulator,semiconductor, or a conductor, depending upon the desired electricalproperties of the exterior substrate surface 28 a. For example, thesubstrate 24 can also be made from aluminum oxide or glass, or evenaluminum or steel, depending on the application.

In one version, the substrate 24 comprises mica, which is a layeredsilicate typically having a muscovite structure, and a stoichiometry ofKAl₃Si₃O₁₀(OH)₂. Mica has a six-sided planar monoclinical crystallinestructure with good cleavage properties along the direction of the largeplanar surfaces. Because of this crystal structure, mica may be splitinto thin foils along its cleavage direction to provide thin substrates24 having surfaces which are smoother than most chemically ormechanically polished surfaces. Chemically, mica is stable and inert tothe action of most acids, water, alkalies, and common solvents, makingit a good surface covering for the battery. Electrically, mica has gooddielectric strength, a uniform dielectric constant, and low electricalpower loss factor. Mica is also stable at high temperatures of up to600° C. and has good tensile strength. A mica substrate 24 having athickness of less than about 100 μm, and more typically from about 4 μmto about 25 μm is sufficiently strong to provide a good mechanicalsupport for the battery 20. This substrate thickness also provides agood barrier to external gases and liquids in the direction normal tothe cleavage plane of the planar strata's, and is thus, capable ofproviding good environmental protection in many different environments.Mica also has a relatively low weight and volume, thus improving thespecific energy and energy density of the battery.

At the other side of the battery cell 22, facing the substrate 24 is acap 26 that serves as a portion of the battery enclosure. The cap is 26is typically made from a material that is resistant to environmentaldegradation and provides an impenetrable seal from external gases andliquids. The cap 26 can also comprise the same material as the substrate20, such as a sheet of mica, in which case both wide area sides of thebattery are enclosed by mica sheets. The substrate 24 or cap 26 can alsobe made from other materials, including quartz, metal foil, metalizedplastic film, metal casing, ceramic casing or glass casing. In oneexample, the entire enclosure is made from a cap 26 comprising a metalfoil that is joined together at its edges by solder or glue, as forexample, shown in FIG. 7. The substrate 24 and cap 26 can also be madefrom different materials, for example, a substrate 24 of mica and a cap26 of metal foil.

The substrate 24 and facing cap 26 form a large percentage of theexternal enclosing surface area of the battery 20 that protects theinternal battery structure from exposure and corrosion by thesurrounding environment. For example, in one type of battery, theexternal surface 28 a of the substrate 24 itself forms approximately 45%of the total external area of the battery 20, and another 45% of thetotal external area is formed by external surface 28 b of the cap 26.The remaining 10% or less of external area of the battery 20 occursalong a plurality of side faces 30 that are the spaces between the cap26 and substrate 24. Preferably, the battery 20 is fabricated so that atleast one substrate 24 on which a battery cell 22 is formed, serves toalso form a large percentage of the area of the battery 20 that isexposed to the surrounding environment. Thus, in the battery shown inFIG. 1, about 45% of the external surface area of the battery 20 isformed by the backside surface 28 a of the substrate 20, and the surface28 a of the cap 26 forms about another 45%, with the remaining 10% isformed by the side faces 30. In the alternative, when the substrate 24and cap 26 are made from the same material, for example, two sheets ofmica—about 90% of the external surface area of the battery 20 arisesfrom the surfaces 28 a,b. By using the substrate 24 itself, to serve asthe supportive structure for the battery 20 as well as the enclosingenvironment, the weight and volume of the enclosing structure isminimized, thereby increasing the energy density of the battery.

Each battery cell 22 of the battery 20 comprises a plurality ofconductors 40 a,b that are on opposing surfaces of an electrolyte 84.The conductors 40 a,b are made from conducting metals and can serve aselectrodes 60 a,b, current collectors 72, adhesion film, or combinationsthereof. For example, the first pair of conductors 40 a can include ananode electrode 60 a, and optionally, can also include an anode currentcollector 72 a. In some versions, an anode current collector is not usedbecause the anode serves both as the anode current collector and theanode itself. The second pair of conductors 40 b can include a cathodeelectrode 60 b and an optional cathode current collector 72 b. Theposition and order of the conductors 40 a,b may be interchanged, forexample, the position of the anode 60 a and anode current collector 72 amay be interchanged with the position of the cathode 60 b and cathodecurrent collector 72 b. Thus, the claims should not be limited to theillustrative version shown in the drawings. In the version shown in FIG.1, when used, the anode current collector 72 a and the cathode currentcollector 72 b are both formed on the surface of the substrate 24 andthe other layers are deposited over these layers.

The electrodes, namely the anode 60 a and cathode 60 b, each comprise anelectrochemically active material, such as, for example, amorphousvanadium pentoxide V₂O₅, or one of several crystalline compounds such asTiS₂, LiMnO₂, LiMn₂O₂, LiMn₂O₄, LiCoO₂ and LiNiO₂. The electrodestypically have a thickness that is sufficiently thick to provide goodcurrent carrying capacity and sufficiently thin to minimize expansionstresses and electrical resistance for the passage of both ions andelectrons. A suitable thickness for the electrodes is from about 0.1 μmto about 20 μm. In one version, electrodes 60 a,b are made from alithium film which is sufficiently conductive to also serve as thecurrent collector 72 a,b, and in this version the electrodes 60 a,b andthe current collector 72 a,b are the same. In yet another version, oneor more of the electrodes 60 a,b may be made from metals, such ascopper.

The current collectors 72 a,b provides a conducting surface from whichelectrons may be dissipated or collected from the electrode 60 a,b. Thecurrent collectors 72 a,b are thus shaped and sized to increase electronconductivity to or from the electrodes 60 a,b and are formed over orbelow the electrodes to electrically couple to them. The currentcollectors 72 a,b are typically conductive layers comprisingmetal-containing materials, such as for example, metal, non-reactivemetal, metal alloy, metal silicide, or mixtures thereof. For example, inone version, each current collector 72 a,b comprises a non-reactivemetal such as silver, gold, platinum or aluminum. The advantage to usinga non-reactive metal is that the battery 20 may be processed atrelatively high temperatures after forming the current collectors 72 a,bwithout the current collector material reacting with other componentfilms of the battery 20. However, in other versions, the currentcollectors 72 a,b need not be a non-reactive metal. The currentcollectors 72 a,b have a thickness selected to provide a suitableelectrical conductivity, for example, in one version, the currentcollectors 72 a,b have thicknesses of from about 0.05 μm to about 5 μm.

The battery 20 may also comprise one or more adhesion layers (not shown)deposited on the substrate 24 or other layers to improve adhesion ofoverlying layers. The adhesion layer can comprise a metal such as, forexample, titanium, cobalt, aluminum, other metals; or a ceramic materialsuch as, for example, LiCoO_(x), which may comprise a stoichiometry ofLiCoO₂. In one version, the adhesion layer is deposited on the substrate24 and comprise the same material as the current collectors 72 a,b.

The battery 20 also comprises an electrolyte 84 between the pair ofconductors 40 a,b such as the anode 60 a and the cathode 60 b. Theelectrolyte 84 may be, for example, an amorphous lithium phosphorusoxynitride film, also known as a LiPON film. In one embodiment, theLiPON is of the form Li_(x)PO_(y)N_(z) in an x:y:z ratio of about2.9:3.3:0.46. In one version, the electrolyte 84 has a thickness of fromabout 0.1 ∥m to about 5 μm. This thickness is suitably large to providesufficiently high ionic conductivity and suitably small to reduce ionicpathways to minimize electrical resistance and reduce stress.

The battery 20 has a single separation gap 100 between a non-contactsurface 42 of a conductor 40 a, such as a surface of an electrode 60 a,formed on the substrate 24 and the cap 26. The separation gap 100 caneither be a space between the conductor 40 a and the cap 26. Theseparation gap 100 provides room for the components of the battery cell22 to expand and move during operation of the battery 20. For example,the battery cell 22 may generate or receive heat during operation whichmay cause the conductors 40 a,b, for example, the electrodes 60 a,b,optional current collectors 72 a,b or other components of the batterycell 22, to undergo thermal expansion. The electrodes 60 a,b or theelectrolyte 84, or both, may also experience expansion or contraction oftheir volume due to the removal or addition of material to these layersthrough electrochemical processes occurring during operation of thebattery 20. Without the separation gap 100, components of the battery 20would have no room to expand and may experience undesirable mechanicalstresses, which could lead to reduced performance or failure of thebattery 20. For example, undesirable mechanical stresses may result in aphysical failure, such as a breakage or delamination, of a comprisingbattery cell film. This may cause a discontinuity in an electrical pathof the battery 20 or a parasitic electrical resistance that may reduceperformance of the battery 20, such as reducing the output voltage,power storage capacity, or charging time.

The separation gap 100 has a gap distance d_(g) that is selected to besufficiently large to provide room for expansion of battery components.The gap distance d_(g) is selected to be sufficiently small to avoidexcessively impacting the energy density of the battery 20. For example,in one version, the gap distance d_(g) is selected to be from about 1 μmto about 120 μm. In another version, the gap distance d_(g) is selectedto be less than about 10 μm. The gap 100 is bounded by the non-contactsurface 42, which is on at least one of the conductors 40 a, 40 b andthe side faces 30 which are the originally open side facing regionsaround the perimeter edge of the gap 100 not enclosed by the substrate24 or cap 26. The total area of the side faces 30 is maintained small bymaintaining a small gap distance d_(g) to reduce the diffusion orpassage of gas species that enter the battery 20 from the side faces 30and travel to the conductor 40 or other films of the battery and causecorrosion or other degradation of the thin films. Thus, preferably, theratio of the area of the non-contact surface 42 of the conductor 40 a tothe total area of the side faces 30 is at least about 10:1 and morepreferably, from about 20:1 to about 50:1. The total area of the sidefaces 30 is the cummulative area of the side faces 30. The separationgap 100 presents a location where the components of the battery cell 22might be exposed to undesirable atmospheric elements if otherwiseunprotected. A narrow gap 100 defines a narrow passage that limitsmigration of gas or other contaminant species from the externalenvironment to the conductors 40 a,b.

To further reduce or entirely prevent migration of gas species from theside faces 30 to the conductors 40 and other thin films, a seal 120extends around the side faces 30 of the gap 100. The seal 120, inconjunction with the substrates 24, provide a hermetic boundary betweenthe battery components and environmental elements. For example, the seal120 is environmentally stable and provides a barrier against moisture.Preferably, the seal 120 comprises a moisture permeability of less thanabout 10 g/(mil*inch²)/day. The seal 120 can also be pliant to allowlateral expansion of the conductor 40 by being made form a pliabledielectric or conducting material. For example, the seal 120 can be madefrom epoxy, polymerized ethylene acid copolymer, Apiezon® (M&I MaterialsLTC, U.K.), paraffin, wax, Surlyn® (Dupont de Nemours), or mixturesthereof. The seal 120 may also comprise a conductive material such asmetal or ceramic powder filled epoxy and low melting point metal such asindium, tin, lead, or mixtures thereof. When conductive materials areused as seals, they need to be insulated from the current collector 72.

In the version illustrated in FIG. 2, the battery 20 comprises twobattery cells 22 a,b that face one another with a separation gap 100therebetween. The first battery cell 22 a comprises a first pair ofconductors 40 a, 40 b on a substrate 24; and the second battery cell 22b comprises a second pair of conductors 40 c, 40 d on a second substrate24 b. In this version, each conductor 40 comprises an electrode 60 and acurrent collector 72. For example, in cell 22 a, the pair of conductors40 a, 40 b comprises an anode 60 a and cathode 60 b, respectively, andalso includes two current collectors comprising an anode currentcollector 72 a and a cathode current collector 72 b, respectively.Similarly, in cell 22 b, the pair of conductors 40 c, 40 d comprises ananode 60 c and cathode 60 d, respectively, and also includes two currentcollectors comprising an anode current collector 72 c and a cathodecurrent collector 72 d, respectively. The position and order of theconductors 40 may be interchanged, for example, the position of theanodes 60 a,c and anode current collectors 72 a,c may be interchangedwith the position of the cathode 60 b,d and cathode current collector 72b,d. In the version shown in FIG. 2, both current collectors 72 a, 72 bare formed on the substrate 24 a. The separation gap 100 between thebattery cells 22 a,b also prevents cross-talk between electricallyindependent conductors, such as the electrodes 60 a,d from opposingbattery cells 22 a,b which face each other across the gap 100.

The battery 20 comprises a set of battery terminals 88 a,b to theexterior surface of the battery 20, as shown in FIG. 3. The terminals 88comprise a negative terminal 88 a and a positive terminal 88 b. Thebattery 20 can also comprise multiple sets of terminals that include afirst set of positive and negative terminals, and a second set ofpositive and negative terminals. The terminals 88 a,b can be exposedportions of the current collectors 72 c,d, respectively, as for example,shown in FIG. 3, where a portion of each current collector 72 c,dextends out from the interior of the battery 20 to present a surface tothe exterior environment that acts as the terminals 88 a,b. Eachterminal 88 a,b that is an exposed surface of a current collector 72 c,dis an electrical thin film conductor substantially free of defects, andcan be made of the same material as the current collectors 72. Inanother version, the terminal 88 is a metal foil or wire that isattached to the current collector 72.

In the version of FIG. 2, the battery 20 comprises a single separationgap 100 between the non-contact surfaces 42 a,b of the first pair ofconductors 40 a, 40 b and a non-contact surface 116 b of the second pairof conductors 40 c, 40 d, with at least one of the first pair ofconductors 40 a, 40 b spaced apart from at least one of the second pairof conductors 40 c, 40 d by the gap distance d_(g). In this version, thebattery 20 comprises two complete battery cells 22 a,b, each batterycell 22 a,b producing a battery cell voltage across an independent setof terminals 88 a,b. The two battery cells 22 a,b can be electricallyindependent with separate terminals 88 (not shown) or can be connectedin series or in parallel. In this version, the separation gap 100 isbetween a conductor 40 and the second substrate 24 b, which serves as acap 26. The cap 26 can also be a material that is impermeable toaforementioned environmental elements, such as for example, glass. Theseparation gap 100 can either be a space between the conductor 40 andthe cap 26 or the gap 100 can be filled with a pliable material asdescribed below. The gap 100 can also have electrical connectors thatextend thorough the gap 100 to connect one or more of the conductors 40on the substrate 24 to the external environment, as described below.

In yet another version, the battery 20 comprises a plurality of batterycells 22 with a plurality of separation gaps 100 between the cells. Forexample, in one version, such as the version shown in FIG. 4, thebattery 20 comprises three battery cells 22 a-c with two separation gaps100 a,b having gap distances d_(g) and d_(g2). In this version, thebattery 20 comprises three battery cells 22 a-c, each cell 22electrically independent from the others and presenting an independentpair of terminals (not shown) to the exterior of the battery. The firstseparation gap 100 a having a gap distance d_(g) is located between anon-contact surface 42 a of one of the first pair of conductors 40 a, 40b and a non-contact surface 42 b of one of the second pair of conductors40 c, 40 d. The second separation gap 100 b having a gap distance d_(g2)is located between the second substrate 24 b and one of a third pair ofconductors 40 e, 40 f formed on a third substrate 24 c. Each substrate24 a-c has only one surface with the battery cells 22 a-c on it. In thisbattery 20, the battery cells 22 a-c are connected such that thesubstrates 24 a-c themselves form the battery caps, thereby efficientlyusing the battery cell components to provide a battery with a higherspecific energy.

In the version of FIG. 5, the separation gap 100 is formed between thenon-contact surface 42 a,b of two facing battery cells 22 a,b and isfilled by a pliable dielectric 128. The pliable dielectric 128 hasenough flexibility to allow expansion of film components of the facingbatteries 22 a,b into the filled gap 100. The pliable dielectric 128also electrically insulates the component films of the batteries 22 a,band allows the conductors 40 a-d about the electrolytes 84 a,b to changevolume during charge and discharge cycles. Thus, the pliable dielectric128 comprises a material that does not react with the conductors 40 a-dand can withstand pressures applied to the battery during conventionaluse, without excessive deformation. For example, preferably, the pliabledielectric 128 is capable of withstanding a pressure of up to about 1kg/mm² with a thickness deformation of less than about 0.1 mm. Thepliable dielectric 128 should also be flexible under an appliedpressure. In terms of insulative properties, the pliable dielectric 128can have a resistivity greater than 10⁴ Ωcm. The presence of the pliabledielectric 128 may reduce the minimum gap distance required to preventelectrical communication between conductors 40 in separate battery cells22. The pliable dielectric 128 may comprise grease (Apiezon®) wax,paraffin, mineral oil or any material that does not react with theconductor, or mixtures thereof. The advantage of using grease is itslower viscosity results in a smaller gap. The pliable dielectric 128 mayalso comprise other materials. Generally, the pliable dielectric 128should have a thickness sufficiently thick to prevent generatedelectrical currents from passing therethrough and sufficiently thin toblock diffusion of external gases from the peripheral edge of thepliable dielectric to the thin films of the batteries 22 within thebattery 20. A suitable thickness of the pliable dielectric 128 is fromabout 1 μm to about 20 μm. The pliable dielectric 128 may be both thedielectric in the separation gap 100 and the seal 120 about theperimeter 30 of the separation gap 100.

The battery 20 may also comprise a protective layer 124 about some ofthe components of the battery 20, as shown in FIG. 5. For example, theprotective layer 124 can be positioned between the conductors 40 and theseparation gap 100 or between the conductors 40 and the substrate 24.The protective layer is also pliant and allows the electrodes 60 tochange volume during charge/discharge. The protective layer 124 providesfurther protection to the battery cell component films from atmosphericelements, such as, for example, during manufacture of the battery 20.The protective layer 124 also presents a hermetic boundary between theprotected components and the environmental elements. The protectivelayer 124 may need to protect for a relatively short period of time, forexample, only during certain steps of the manufacturing process. Thus,the comprising material of the protective layer 124 need not necessaryprovides the same degree of protection as the seal 120 and thesubstrates 24. The protective layer 124 may comprise parylene,dielectric material, or mixtures thereof. The protective layer 124 mayalso comprise other materials. However, the protective layer 124 doesnot need to be included only in this particular embodiment, and can befound in any embodiment of the battery 20.

Still further versions of the battery 20 comprising a plurality ofinterconnected battery cells 22 a-c are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6shows a battery 20 comprising a first battery cell 22 a having a firstpair of conductors 40 a, 40 b on a first substrate 24 a, a secondbattery cell 22 b having and a second pair of conductors 40 c, 40 d on asecond substrate 24 b, and a third battery cell 22 c having a third pairof conductors 40 e, 40 f on a third substrate 24 c. Each of theconductors 40 a-f comprises an electrode 60 a-f and a current collector72 a-f. The electrodes comprise an anode 60 a,c,e and a cathode 60b,d,f, and the two current collectors comprising an anode currentcollector 72 a,c,e and a cathode current collector 72 b,d,f. Theposition and order of the conductors 40 a-f may be interchanged, forexample, the position of the anode 60 a,c,e and anode current collector72 a,c,e may be interchanged with the position of the cathode 60 b,d,fand cathode current collector 72 b,d,f. The battery cells 22 a-c areconnected in series with the electrical connectors 130 a-d whichterminate in two terminals 88 a,b. The electrical connectors 130 a-d canpass through holes in the substrates 24 a-c as shown. This version isuseful for protecting the current collector and electrical connectorsfrom the environment and to obtain higher voltage.

FIG. 7 also shows three battery cells 22 a-c connected in parallel withelectrical connectors 130 a-d which extend around the cells 22 a-c andterminate in two terminals 88 a,b. In this battery 20, the batteries 22a-c is enclosed by a housing 131 comprising two pieces of metal foil 132a,b that wrap around the batteries and are joined with adhesive orsolder at their center. The joined electrical connectors 130 a-d passthrough the housing 131 to form the terminals 88 a,b. The housing 131can serve as shield to prevent electrical or magnetic field fromdisturbing operation of the battery 20. The housing 131 can also beformed from metallized plastic films, polymer layers, ceramic layers, ormetal sheeting. This version is useful in adverse or hostileenvironments, or where it is desirable for the battery to have improvedmechanical strength and to obtain more current and capacity.

In another version, as shown in FIG. 8, the battery 20 comprises a dualbattery cells 22 a,b which are formed on opposing surfaces 32 a,b asingle substrate 24. For example, a first battery cell 22 a is formed ona first surface 32 a of the substrate 24 and the second battery cell 22b is formed on the second surface 32 b of the substrate 24. Each batterycell 22 a,b comprises an electrolyte 84 a,b between a pair of conductors40 a,b and 40 c,d respectively. At least one of each pair of conductors40 a-d has a non-contact surface 42 a,b on either side of the substrate24 that faces a cap 26 a,b, and is further surrounded along its edges byseals 120 a,b that encloses the side faces 30 a,b. The housing enclosureformed by the caps 26 a,b and the side seals 120 a,b protects the thinfilms of the battery 20 from the surrounding ambient environment. Such abattery 20 provides an energy density of more than 700 Watt hr/l and aspecific energy of more than 250 Watt hr/kg which is twice as much as aconventional battery that is formed only on a single surface. Thebattery 20 comprises a first separation gap 100 a (d_(g1)) between thenon-contact surface 42 a of a conductor 40 a on the substrate 24 and thecap 26 a, and a second separation gap 100 b (d_(g2)) between thenon-contact surface 42 b of a conductor 40 b and the cap 26 b. Eachseparation gap 100 a,b has a gap distance d_(g1,2) that is sufficientlylarge to provide room for expansion of battery components. In oneversion, the gap distance d_(g1,2) is selected to be from about 1 μm toabout 120 μm, and more preferably less than 10 μm. In this battery 20,the battery cells 22 a,b are connected in series with the electricalconnectors 130 a-c, which teminate at the terminals 88 a,b.

FIG. 9 shows a serial arrangement of a battery 20 comprising a stack ofsubstrates 24 a,b that each have dual battery cells 22 a,b as shown inFIG. 8. The cells are connected in serial with electrical connectors 130a-d which extend through and/or around the cells 22 a-c to terminate intwo terminals 88 a,b. FIG. 10 shows another version of a battery 20comprising substrates 20 with multiple cells 22 that are interconnectedin a parallel arrangement, which also has electrical connectors 130 a-dextending around the cells 22 a-c to terminate in the terminals 88 a,b.The housing 131 in each of these arrangements, can also be formed frommetallized plastic films, polymer layers, ceramic layers or metalsheeting. These versions provide high specific energy levels and can beused in adverse environments.

An embodiment of a battery 20 comprising an arrangement of battery cells22 a-h formed on a single surface 32 of a substrate 24 that is arectangular sheet of mica is illustrated in FIG. 11A. The battery cells22 a-h can be interconnected with one another in a series or parallelarrangement. For example, a first battery cell 22 a is connected inseries to a second battery cell 22 b which is connected in series to athird battery cell 22 c, and so on. In FIG. 11A, as shown, the anode 60a-h of a first cell has a tab that extends out to contact theintervening connector strip 130 which in turn extends over or below anadjacent cathode current collector 72 b 1-8 of the adjacent batterycell. In the version shown in FIG. 11B, a first conductor 40 a 1 of afirst battery cell 22 a, such as an anode 60 a-h, is connected to asecond conductor 40 b 2 of an adjacent second battery cell 22 b, such asa cathode current collector 72 b 1-8 of the adjacent cell. In eachbattery cell 22 a-h, the first and second conductors 40 a 1,b 1 or 40 a2,b 2 are different conductors that are on opposing surfaces of anelectrolyte 84 a,b that is between the conductors. For example, thefirst conductors 40 a 1,a 2 can be an anode 60, anode current collector,or a single conducting strip 130 a-g that serves as both the anode andanode current collector. Conversely, the second conductors 40 b 1,b 2can be a cathode 60 b, cathode current collector 72 b, or a singleconducting strip that serves as both the cathode and cathode currentcollector. The conducting strip 130 is advantageous when it is desirableto minimize direct contact between the anode 60 a or anode currentcollector 72 a of one cell, and the adjacent cathode 60 b or cathodecurrent collector 72 b of another cell, for example, when the anode andcathode materials would react with one another. The connector strip 130serves as a chemical barrier or buffer strip between the two cells.

In one version, as shown in FIG. 11B, the electrical connector strip 130b comprises a head 132 that extends over a first conductor 40 a 1 of abattery cell 22 a and a foot 134 that extends underneath a secondconductor 40 b 2 of an adjacent battery cell 22 b, or vice versa, toelectrically couple the battery cells 22 a,b to one another. Forexample, the first conductor 40 a 1 can be a cathode current collector72 b 1 that is below another electrolyte 84 a and extends out from underthe electrolyte, and the second conductor 40 b 2 can be an anode 60 a 2that overlays the electrolyte 84 b. In this version, the battery cells22 a are arranged in a row with an anode 60 a 1 of a battery cell 22 aabutting a cathode current collector 72 b 2 of an adjacent battery cell22 b, and so on. At least one of the conductor, such as the conductors40 b 1,b 2, has a non-contact surface 42 a,b that does not contact thesubstrate 24 to allow expansion of the battery cells 22 a,b in thedirection of the non-contact surface. A cap 26 is spaced apart from thenon-contact surface 42 a,b of the conductors 40 b 1,b 2 by a gap havinga gap distance d_(g1) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm to complete thebattery 20.

Referring back to FIG. 11A, the substrate surface 32 can also have morethan one row, for example, a first row 136 a of battery cells 22 a-d anda second row 136 b of battery cells 22 e-h that are electricallyconnected to one another by an electrical connector strip 130 d that isa U-shaped strip which connects adjacent battery cells 22 d, 22 e atfirst ends 133 a,b of the first and second rows 136 a,b, respectively.The battery cells 22 a and 22 h at the second ends 140 a,b of the firstand second rows 136 a,b of battery cells are terminated with a negativeterminal 88 a and a positive terminal 88 b, respectively. The negativeterminal 88 a and positive terminal 88 b allow electrical connection ofthe battery 20 to the external environment.

The thin film components of the battery 20, such as the conductors 40and electrolyte 84 are deposited on the substrate 24, or onto layersalready on the substrate 24, and can have a number of differentconfigurations, for example, positions and shapes, and should not belimited to the exemplary configurations which are described herein toillustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. These films aretypically thin layers that have a thickness of from about 1 μm to about100 μm; however, they may be thicker of even thinner depending on thedesired current carrying capacity of the battery and its desired volumeor weight. The thin film layers may be continuous, segmented orpatterned. The thin films are typically be deposited by a PVD process,such as RF or DC magnetron sputtering of a target with a relatively highplasma density, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,632,563 toKrasnov et al., issued Oct. 14, 2003, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The deposition chamber may be a vacuumchamber comprising one or more sputtering targets and a process gasdistribution manifold for distributing process gases into the chamber.

For example, to deposit a cathode 60 comprising a material such as, forexample, a crystalline LiCoO₂ film, a mixture of argon and oxygen gasesis introduced into the chamber with a total pressure of 5 to 25 mTorrand a volumetric flow rate ratio of Ar/O₂ of from about 1 to about 45.The target comprises a disc of LiCoO_(x). Radio frequency (RF)sputtering of the target can be performed at a power density level of 1to 20 W/cm². The LiCoO₂ film can be deposited on the substrate atrelatively low temperatures, such as less than 100° C. Thereafter, thedeposited cathode material is thermally annealed to a temperature offrom about 150° C. to 600° C. in an annealing gas comprising ambientoxygen to reduce the defects in the as deposited cathode material.

In another example, to deposit a current collector 72 comprising a metalsuch as, for example, copper, the current collector is formed bydepositing the metal using a sputtering system similar to the one usedfor deposition of the cathode. However, the sputtering gas may be pureargon and DC instead of RF magnetron sputtering may also be used tosputter a target. To deposit a film comprising copper material, thetarget material comprises copper and a gas comprising Ar is introducedinto the chamber at a pressure of about 1 to 10 mTorr. The gas may beenergized with DC energy at a power level of from about 0.5 to about 5kW, and more preferably about 1 kW. The temperature of the substrate maybe maintained at less than 100° C. This is performed for 240 seconds todeposit a film of copper having a thickness of about 0.3 microns on thesubstrate.

In another example, the deposition of an electrolyte 84 comprising, forexample, amorphous lithium phosphorus oxynitride material may be carriedout in a vacuum chamber similar to that used for deposition of thecathode and cathode current collector. For example, the lithiumphosphorous oxynitride may be deposited by RF sputtering of a lithiumphosphate (Li₃PO₄) target in pure nitrogen at a power density level offrom about 1 to about 20 W/cm². The flow rate of nitrogen gas is fromabout 100 to about 1000 sccm, and the gas is maintained at a pressure ofless than about 20 mTorr, and more preferably at least about 1 mTorr.The sample is then annealed in nitrogen or in air at 200° C. for 10minutes to increase the ionic conductivity of electrolyte and to reducethe resistance of any interfaces.

The above examples of methods to deposit the comprising films are onlyexemplary embodiments of methods to form the battery 20. Other methodsmay be used to fabricate the battery 20. Furthermore, the materials ofthe components described in the exemplary manufacturing methods are onlyexemplary materials, and components of the battery 20 may comprise othermaterials as described herein. The scope of the battery 20 should not belimited by the exemplary methods of manufacture provided herein.

While illustrative embodiments of the battery 20 are described in thepresent application, it should be understood that other embodiments arealso possible. For example, the battery 20 may have a plurality ofbattery cells 22 arranged horizontally or stacked in a convoluted ornon-symmetrical shape depending on the application. Also, the packagingassembly of the present invention can be applied to contain andhermetically seal other type of batteries, as would be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the scope of the claims should notbe limited to the illustrative embodiments.

1. A battery comprising: (a) a substrate comprising an electrolytebetween a pair of conductors, at least one conductor having anon-contact surface; and (b) a cap spaced apart from the conductor withthe non-contact surface by a gap having a gap distance d_(g) of fromabout 1 μm to about 120 μm, whereby the conductor can expand into thegap.
 2. A battery according to claim 1 wherein the gap distance dg isless than about 10 μm.
 3. A battery according to claim 1 wherein the gapis bounded at least partially by the non-contact surface of theconductor and a plurality of side faces, and wherein the ratio of thearea of the non-contact conductor surface to the total area of the sidefaces is greater than about 10:1.
 4. A battery according to claim 1comprising a seal extending around the side faces of the gap.
 5. Abattery according to claim 4 wherein the seal comprises at least one of:(1) a moisture permeability of less than about 1.75 g/(mil*100inch²)/day; (2) is made from a conductive material; or (3) is made fromat least one of epoxy, polymerized ethylene acid copolymer, Apiezon®,paraffin, wax, Surlyn® and mixtures thereof.
 6. A battery according toclaim 1 further comprising a pliable dielectric within the gap.
 7. Abattery according to claim 6 wherein the pliable dielectric comprises atleast one of: (1) a material that does not react with the conductors;(2) a material that can withstand a pressure of up to about 1 kg/mm²with a thickness deformation of less than about 0.1 mm; (3) a moisturepermeability of less than about 10 g/(mil*100 inch²)/day; and (4) ismade from at least one of Apiezon®, paraffin, wax, mineral oil andmixtures thereof.
 8. A battery according to claim 1 wherein at least oneof the substrate or cap comprises a sheet of mica, quartz, metal foil,metalized plastic film, metal casing, ceramic casing or glass casing. 9.A battery according to claim 1 comprising a pair of electricalconnectors extending though the gap to the external environment, eachelectrical connector being connected to at least one conductor.
 10. Abattery according to claim 1 comprising a housing enclosing thesubstrate and the cap.
 11. A battery comprising: (a) a first substratecomprising an electrolyte between a first pair of conductors, at leastone of the conductors having a first non-contact surface; (b) a secondsubstrate comprising an electrolyte between a second pair of conductors,at least one of the conductors having a second non-contact surface; and(c) a first gap about the first non-contact surface of the first pair ofconductors and a second gap about the second non-contact surface of thesecond pair of conductors, the first and second gaps each comprising agap distance d_(g) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm, whereby the firstand second gaps allow the first and second conductors to expand.
 12. Abattery according to claim 11 wherein the gap distance d_(g) is lessthan about 10 μm.
 13. A battery according to claim 11 wherein the firstnon-contact surface faces the second non-contact surface and wherein thegap is therebetween.
 14. A battery according to claim 11 wherein thefirst non-contact surface faces a second substrate to form the first gaptherebetween, and wherein the second non-contact surface faces a cap toform a second gap therebetween.
 15. A battery according to claim 11wherein the first or second substrate comprises a sheet of mica, quartz,metal foil, metallized plastic film, metal casing, ceramic casing orglass casing.
 16. A battery according to claim 11 wherein each of thefirst and second gaps is bounded at least partially by a non-contactsurface of a conductor and a plurality of side faces, and wherein theratio of the area of the non-contact conductor surface to the total areaof the side faces is greater than about 10:1.
 17. A battery according toclaim 16 comprising a seal extending around the side faces of the gap.18. A battery according to claim 11 comprising a pliable dielectric inat least one of the first and second gaps.
 19. A battery according toclaim 11 where the first and second substrates are connected in parallelwith electrical connectors extending around the first and secondsubstrates.
 20. A battery according to claim 11 where the first andsecond substrates are connected in series with electrical connectorsextending through holes in the first and second substrates.
 21. Abattery according to claim 11 comprising a pair of electrical connectorsextending though the gap to the external environment, each electricalconnector being connected to at least one of the first or second pairsof the conductors.
 22. A battery according to claim 11 comprising ahousing enclosing the first and second substrates.
 23. A batterycomprising: (a) a first substrate comprising an electrolyte between afirst pair of conductors, at least one of the first pair of conductorshaving a first non-contact surface; (b) a second substrate comprising anelectrolyte between a second pair of conductors, at least one of thesecond pair of conductors having a second non-contact surface; and (c) apliable dielectric abutting at least one of the first or secondnon-contact surfaces, the pliable dielectric having a thicknesssufficiently thick to prevent generated electrical currents from passingtherethrough and sufficiently thin to block diffusion of external gasesfrom the peripheral edge of the pliable dielectric to the first andsecond pairs of conductors.
 24. A battery according to claim 23 whereinthe thickness of the pliable dielectric is from about 1 μm to about 20μm.
 25. A battery according to claim 23 wherein the pliable dielectriccomprises at least one of the following: (1) a material that does notreact with the conductors; (2) a material that can withstand a pressureof up to about 1 kg/mm² with a thickness deformation of less than about0.1 mm; (3) a moisture permeability of less than about 10 g/(mil*100inch²)/day; and (4) is made from Apiezon®, paraffin, wax, mineral oiland mixtures thereof.
 26. A battery according to claim 23 wherein thefirst non-contact surface faces the second non-contact surface andwherein the gap is therebetween.
 27. A battery comprising: (a) asubstrate having (i) a first surface comprising a first battery cellcomprising a first electrolyte between a first pair of conductors, atleast one of the first pair of conductors having a first non-contactsurface and (ii) a second surface comprising a second electrolytebetween a second pair of conductors, at least one of the second pair ofconductors having a second non-contact surface; (b) a first cap spacedapart from the first non-contact surface of a conductor by a first gaphaving a gap distance d_(g1) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm, wherebythe conductor can expand into the first gap; and (c) a second cap spacedapart from the second non-contact surface of a conductor by a second gaphaving a gap distance d_(g2) of from about 1 μm to about 120 μm, wherebythe conductor can expand into the second gap.
 28. A battery according toclaim 27 wherein the gap distance d_(g) is less than about 10 μm.
 29. Abattery according to claim 27 further comprising a plurality of secondsubstrates that each comprise a first surface with a first battery celland a second surface with a second battery cell.
 30. A battery accordingto claim 29 wherein at least one of the first and second caps is asubstrate having a surface with a battery cell.
 31. A batterycomprising: (a) a substrate having a surface; (b) a plurality ofinterconnected battery cells on the substrate surface, each battery cellcomprising: (i) an electrolyte having opposing surfaces; and (ii) firstand second conductors contacting the opposing surfaces of theelectrolyte, at least one conductor having a non-contact surface; and(c) at least one electrical connector strip connecting the battery cellsto electrically couple the battery cells to one another.
 32. A batteryaccording to claim 31 wherein the electrical connector strip comprises afoot that extends underneath a first conductor of a battery cell and ahead that extends over a second conductor of an adjacent battery cell.33. A battery according to claim 31 wherein the first conductorcomprises an anode of a battery cell and the second conductor comprisesa cathode current collector of an adjacent battery cell.
 34. A batteryaccording to claim 31 where the plurality of battery cells are arrangedin a single row with an anode of a battery cell abutting a cathodecurrent collector of an adjacent battery cell.
 35. A battery accordingto claim 31 comprising first and second rows of battery cells areelectrically connected by an electrical connector strip that is aU-shaped strip connecting adjacent battery cells at first ends of thefirst and second rows.
 36. A battery according to claim 34 where thebattery cells at the second ends of the first and second rows of batterycells are terminated with negative and positive terminals.
 37. A batteryaccording to claim 35 comprising a cap spaced apart from the non-contactsurface of the conductor by a gap having a gap distance d_(g1) of fromabout 1 μm to about 120 μm.